Quantification of female and male Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR

Schneider, P., Reece, S. E., van Schaijk, B. C.L., Bousema, T., Lanke, K. H.W., Meaden, C. S.J., Gadalla, A., Ranford-Cartwright, L. C. and Babiker, H. A. (2015) Quantification of female and male Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 199(1-2), pp. 29-33. (doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2015.03.006) (PMID:25827756)

Abstract

The transmission of malaria parasites depends on the presence of sexual stages (gametocytes) in the blood, making the ratio and densities of female and male gametocytes important determinants of parasite fitness. This manuscript describes the development of reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays to separately quantify mature female and male gametocytes of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and reveals that Pfs25 mRNA is expressed only in female gametocytes. The female (Pfs25) and male (Pfs230p) gametocyte specific RT-qPCR assays have lower detection limits of 0.3 female and 1.8 male gametocytes per microlitre of blood, respectively, making them more sensitive than microscopy. Accurate quantification of the ratio and densities of female and male gametocytes will increase understanding of P. falciparum transmission and improve the evaluation of transmission blocking interventions.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ranford-Cartwright, Dr Lisa and Meaden, Ms Cora
• Authors: Schneider, P., Reece, S. E., van Schaijk, B. C.L., Bousema, T., Lanke, K. H.W., Meaden, C. S.J., Gadalla, A., Ranford-Cartwright, L. C., and Babiker, H. A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
• Journal Name: Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
• Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
• ISSN: 0166-6851
• ISSN (Online): 1872-9428
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2015 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 199(1-2):29-33
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
53442	1	Genetic analysis of growth rates in Plasmodium falciparum	Lisa Ranford-Cartwright	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOME)	091791/Z/10/Z	III - PARASITOLOGY
39507	1	Identification of Plasmodium falciparum QTL determining differential infectivity to Anopheles mosquitoes	Lisa Ranford-Cartwright	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOME)	078749/Z/05/Z	III - PARASITOLOGY